Alzheimer's Researchers Win Brain Prize

Researchers in the U.K. and Germany have won this year's brain prize for unpicking key protein modifications that lead to Alzheimer's disease, reports BBC News . University College London (UCL) Professor John Hardy's research includes identifying faulty genes linked to Alzheimer's, which suggested an accumulation of amyloid as the event that triggers damage to nerve cells in Alzheimer's. With University of Munich Professor Christian Haass, Hardy discovered how amyloid production changes in people with rare inherited forms of Alzheimer's dementia. Meanwhile, Cambridge University Professor Michael Goedert's work highlighted the importance of the tau protein in Alzheimer's, and UCL Professor Bart De Strooper, the new director of the U.K. Dementia Research Institute, determined how genetic errors that change the activity of proteins known as secretases can lead to Alzheimer's processes. Hardy said he would donate part of his share of the prize money from the Lundbeck Foundation to help campaigns to keep Britain in the European Union, and thanked the many volunteers with Alzheimer's who have participated in dementia research over the years. "Our congratulations go to all four of these outstanding scientists whose vital contributions have transformed our understanding of the complex causes of Alzheimer's disease," said Alzheimer's Research UK Chief Scientific Officer David Reynolds. "The fact that three of these researchers work in the U.K. reflects the country's position as a global leader in dementia research."